Various mobile devices are known whereby to deliver feed to animals in a controlled manner. For example, such feeding devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,312,297 and 3,565,044 as examples only thereof. There is also known on the marketplace a device which resembles a snow blower of the type and which is displaceable on a surface by a person pushing the device and wherein such device is equipped with a front rotating brush to clean a surface area and direct livestock excrements mixed with hay into a scraper device which is advanced against the floor surface with the displacement of the machine. The machine is self-powered by a gas-engine and has drive wheels similar to a conventional snow blower. Other machines are known which direct a jet of water against a floor area by directional jets while at the same time a rotational brush scrapes the material to be discarded forwardly of the vehicle.
Most of these devices do not provide multifunctions and it is therefore necessary to have several machines in a livestock building to effectuate these tasks. These machines occupy large spaces and they require more maintenance. They are also time-consuming for the operators which are often in contact with unsanitary materials. Therefore, for the maintenance of large livestock enclosures, sufficient personnel is required to maintain the enclosure and the livestock in a sanitary condition. There is therefore a need to provide a machine which may be operated by a single operator and which is capable of performing multifunctions simultaneously to clean the area around the livestock as well as assuring the well-being of the livestock both from a sanitary point of view and ensuring adequate feedstock and bedding material. The discharge trough has a discharge opening on a side of the container compartment. A material directional ejector is displaceably secured to the dispensing car and displaceable from a storage position to an ejecting position at the discharge opening. The ejector is defined by an elector housing having a bottom wall and a curved directional side wall having an elector opening therein and a passage in communication with the discharge opening. A rotating propeller is provided with blades secured to a central driven shaft in a spaced-apart configuration with the blades closely spaced above the bottom wall whereby to displace feed/hay material at high speed from the discharge opening to the elector opening. The curved directional side wall has an outwardly directing section extending in a tangential direction beyond the housing bottom wall adjacent the elector opening to produce a guided material ejection flow.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention the utility car is provided with a cleaning brush secured to a displaceable frame hingedly connected to a side wall of the container compartment and spaced from a discharge opening of the discharge trough. The cleaning brush is displaced by a piston from a storage position where the displaceable frame and brush are retacted against the side wall of the container compartment to a working position where the brush is positioned a predetermined distance from the dispensing car on a surface to be cleaned. Drive means impart rotation to the brush to clean and eject material from the surface to be cleaned towards the dispensing car.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a utility car and wherein the ejector is secured to a displacing linkage comprised of a pivot post having an attachment bracket rotatably secured thereto. A pair of link arms are pivotally secured at one end to the ejector and at an opposed end to the attachment bracket. A swivel arm, of predetermined length, is secured at one end to a side wall of the container compartment spaced from the discharge opening and at an opposed end to the ejector. An actuating linkage is provided for displacing the ejector from the storage position to the ejecting position. The swivel arm and the pair of link arms cause the container compartment to move to an elevated plane under the discharge opening when displaced thereto by the actuating linkage.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a utility car and wherein a back brush is telescopically supported on the container compartment for displacement adjacent a side wall of the compartment. Position adjustment means is provided to adjust the position of a rotatable brush whereby to position the brush against an upper section of the back of a restrained animal to brush the upper section thereof along an axis of displacement of the brush.